Afternoon Tea (6/10/19)

This is great reporting: Scott Warren Worked to Prevent Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert. The Government Wants Him in Prison.

A Ship of Jewish Refugees Was Refused U.S. Landing in 1939. This Was Their Fate

Inside The World Of Gillistans, Kirsten Gillibrand’s Biggest Fans

What Anne of Green Gables Taught Me about Grief

So neat: ‘Knitting Is Coding’ and Yarn Is Programmable in This Physics Lab

Afternoon Tea (12/1/17)

Oooh, the Go Fug Yourself annual gift guide is here!

I am A WORRIER and this was genuinely useful: How to Worry Better

Anne of Green Gables: Patron Saint of Girls Who Ask Too Many Questions (by J. Courtney Sullivan, whose book I loved this year!)

!!! New York City Has Genetically Distinct ‘Uptown’ and ‘Downtown’ Rats

How Black Markets Preserved Spain’s Artisanal Cheeses

Morning Coffee (5/12/17)

(I'm traveling, so this was written ahead of time and may not reflect current events. Back on Tuesday!)

I THINK WE ALL NEED SOME DISTRACTING HAPPY LINKS THIS FRIDAY.

First, an important Public Service Announcement.

This is GREAT and has so many writers I like in it: Why the 1980s Anne of Green Gables Is Such a Hard Act to Follow

I read a lot of book contracts for work, so I was very interested to see this: John Milton's publishing contract for Paradise Lost

This is not particularly relevant to my life but I WISH it were: Where to get the absolute best baguette in Paris

This new Picturing Places project from the British Library is really cool.

The Bloomsbury Bohemians in the British Countryside

Here's a fun Friday topic: What's the Dumbest Movie You Saw Just Because It Had a Hot Lead? (Cloned? Probably. The real question, now that I think about this, is why I've seen so many Alex Pettyfer movies EVEN THOUGH I DON'T THINK HE'S HOT.)

Duchess Kate Meets Tiny Adorable Farm Animals!

31 Vintage Posters That Demand You Pick Up a Book

Hee! The Queen is spotted taking her security guard for a spin

Afternoon Tea (4/21/17)

I was already excited about the new Anne show, but this interview with the showrunner makes me even more so.

Robin Wasserman is extremely smart and I love reading her in conversation with other writers. Here she is with Charles Bock.

This is a DELIGHTFUL read about a fancy hotel concierge: The Keeper of the Keys

Facebook and the Murderer

The kingdom of women: the society where a man is never the boss

A Trove on the Women’s Suffrage Struggle, Found in an Old Box

Morning Coffee (4/7/17)

Finally Friday. Time for some distracting links.

Obviously the original issue here isn't happy, but the reaction is: Dutch Men Hold Hands in Solidarity With Attacked Gay Couple

This is SO COOL: An Excavation Of One Of The World’s Greatest Art Collections

The new Netflix Anne show looks... pretty good, you guys.

Fascinating: Translating Agatha Christie into Icelandic: 'One clue took 10 years'

What it's like to run an all-romance bookstore in Los Angeles

Hee: Sony Asked Us to Share Footage of the Smurfs: The Lost Village Premiere and We Said Yes

Hahaha: Harlequin Brings Its Romance-Novel Hunks Into the Real World, With Hidden Cameras Rolling

Want To Ogle Some Official Gifts Given To The Queen? WHO DOESN'T?

Martha Stewart and a drone!

Ooh, so organized: Mayim Bialik’s Passover Calendar Looks Intense

I didn't know the Mary Poppins house was real!

Let's run away to a castle in Italy.

Morning Coffee (1/6/17)

Time for some happy Friday links. It's been a weird week, huh? Remember, if you'd like to receive my thoughts on books in your email inbox, sign up here.

Ooooh: J.K. Rowling Says This Painting Is A Clue To Her Future Projects

I jumped up in the middle of writing this to try the Bookout app because it says it's like a workout tracker for your reading. SOUNDS GOOD.

Yeah, I absolutely want lip color that looks like Crayola crayons.

I don't often read actor interviews, but this one with Matthew Daddario of Shadowhunters is a COMPLETE JOY.

Aaah, look at this Hamilton hat knitting pattern.

Whoa: P.E.I. Lego aficionado recreates Anne of Green Gables out of iconic toy

Speaking of, let's have an Anne of Green Gables party.

I LOVED this stuff: Remembering Pepsi Holiday Spice, the Winter Tradition That Could Have Been

The Onion, BARELY: Man Not Accepting Any More Television Recommendations At This Time

The Ice-Skating Dandies of 18th-Century Paris

Striking New Maps Show the Beauty of Earth's Shadows

18 Book Bags (And Totes) You’ll Want To Spend Your Holiday Loot On

Morning Coffee (10/28/16)

Boy do we need a break for some happy Friday links.

These stories of women born before the 19th Amendment who are now getting to vote for a woman for President are amazing.

There are some pictures from the new Anne show here and here and I remain optimistic.

A football player did a press conference dressed as a wizard and talked about Quidditch and it was amazing.

Starving Stray Dog Is Rescued and Taken to Pet-Friendly Restaurants All Over LA

In other important dog news: Ice cream truck's most loyal customer is this beautiful dog

The Old-Fashioned, Modern Marriage of Ina and Jeffrey (Clearly this book needs to go on my Christmas list.)

All the brooding in Poldark, ranked

Giant Flip Books Are Hiding in the Woods of New Hampshire

I don't agree on ALL POINTS but this ranking of Taylor Swift songs is a good read, and I am now working on my own rankings for you.

Two contestants on The Bachelor fell in love WITH EACH OTHER instead and this story is just delightful.

Morning Coffee (10/22/16)

CHRIS PINE IS PLAYING MR. MURRY. This entire Wrinkle in Time casting endeavor is a gift. A GIFT.

ALSO we have some new Anne of Green Gables show casting!!

What We Know About Friday's Massive East Coast Internet Outage

Interesting: Washington’s foreign policy elite breaks with Obama over Syrian bloodshed

HEAVY SIGH: GOP congressman on Clinton: 'A lady needs to be told when she's being nasty'

Imagine If Donald Trump Controlled the NSA

Attention journalists: An adult can’t ‘have sex’ with a preteen. It’s rape.

A pint-sized pup keeps Hillary Clinton's campaign staff going in a hectic campaign season (And yes, I open the app specifically to feed and pet the dog. Well done, developers.)

Sirius XM released its holiday channel lineup! I'm sad that the Holiday Traditions channel is starting later than usual, and I'm ALWAYS sad that the classical Christmas channel doesn't start until Christmas Eve.

Aaah, we're getting a Juliet, Naked movie! I love that book.

Morning Coffee (9/22/16)

Happy fall! Finally!

Me elsewhere: Pilot thoughts on This Is Us and The Good Place.

Hillary Clinton: My Plan for Helping America’s Poor

Joss Whedon and friends really want you to vote.

Confirmed: Trump campaign is controlling every word of prominent CNN commentator (Also, of COURSE Lewandowski's company is called Green Monster Consulting. Of course.)

!! ‘The West Wing’ Cast to Campaign for Hillary Clinton

The true cost of mass incarceration exceeds $1 trillion

This is a headline I genuinely never thought I'd see: Dalai Lama does impression of Donald Trump

I haven't seen new show Notorious yet - it premieres tonight - but I love a good bad review and this one is great.

What do with think of the new Anne of Green Gables trailer? I'm a little skeptical but it's not as bad as I feared! And I'm all in on Martin Sheen as Matthew, obviously.

I don't know why anyone's talking about Brangelina when obviously this is the only celebrity news that matters this week: Christopher Darden Finally Admits That He and Marcia Clark Were ‘More Than Just Friends’

Sad White Person movies don’t get much better than Manchester by the Sea

Morning Coffee (7/19/16)

Well this is going well: It only took three hours for the RNC to devolve into chaos.

And even before it began: Happy RNC Eve: Karl Rove Just Called Airport Security on Alex Jones

FASCINATING and alarming: Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All

Interesting: Date, kiss or marry ... how Tinder is rewriting India’s rules of engagement

In China, 'Happy Gymnastics' replaces grind of strict study

WHAT: Hospital astrology treats your mental health based on your star sign

Daddies, “Dates,” and the Girlfriend Experience: Welcome to the New Prostitution Economy

Not to make light of a real tragedy but I would watch this crime show.

Food in books: raspberry cordial from Anne of Green Gables

Neanderthals in Belgium Were Cannibals

8 Thoughts Upon Reading the Anne of Green Gables News

The CBC is making a new Anne of Green Gables show! From one of the Breaking Bad writers, because sure! (Actually it's the Flesh & Bone one so... we'll see.) Thoughts:

1. Obviously I have a lot of feelings about Anne but
2. I am not a purist and am happy to give various adaptations a shot.
3. I really thought someone had a contemporary Anne show in development but now I can't find anything about that so maybe I dreamt it?
4. I started thinking about Canadians to cast, and this is set when Anne is a kid but if someone adapts the later books you could do worse than Tahmoh Penikett as Gil.
5. Which - why hasn't anyone made a sweeping Anne's House of Dreams miniseries yet? The structure of the novel lends itself perfectly to that. Tahmoh might be slightly too old (maybe not!) but I feel like my friend Meg and I had someone else we'd fantasy cast for that. Colin Donnell, maybe? (Anne at that age should obviously be Classic Alice's Kate Hackett and about that I will brook no argument.)
6. And where is the Rilla of Ingleside World War I miniseries we deserve? Just cancel Reign already and bring back Megan Follows; it's the perfect time for her to play that part of Anne's life.
7. When is that new Anne TV movie coming out, anyway? I already tear up at the mere THOUGHT of Martin Sheen as Matthew, so I'm sure I'll handle that well.
8. I really need to watch Breaking Bad already.

Morning Coffee (11/30/15)

Me elsewhere: TV news!

NEW PICTURES OF PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. SHE'S SO CUTE.

Make sure you spend some time on the Google homepage today - there are at least three different Anne of Green Gables animated doodles for L.M. Montgomery's birthday.

I saw Spotlight a few days ago and highly recommend it. And then check out the Globe's landing page for the movie - it's got coverage of the movie itself as well as links to the original Spotlight coverage talked about in the movie.

And this Q&A with the costume designer is interesting.

9 questions about ISIS you were too embarrassed to ask

Adele Mailer has died, and - wow. "Some guests recalled that the point of no return came when she told her husband that he was not as good as Dostoyevsky."

Why South African students have turned on their parents’ generation

BBC's Witness radio program is great in general, but look, they have a World War II collection!

Look at these book-shaped plates!

Heh: My Female Students Don’t Seem As Impressed With Me As They Used To

Morning Coffee (8/26/15)

Heh: Christie Says "Pushy" Granite Staters Don't Like to Wait for Answers He thinks New Hampshire is pushy? HE'S FROM NEW JERSEY.

Reporter: Do you write all your tweets?
Trump: People are shocked at how smart I am.
Reporter: Do you type your own tweets?
Trump: Thank you.

Eee! My friend Susan Adrian's new book Nutcracked has been officially announced. It's about Christmas AND ballet AND magic, and I read an earlier draft and loved it. Don't worry, I'll remind you when it comes out.

I am so curious to see how Colbert's new show shapes up.

Interesting: Connecticut to Require All 11th Graders to Take the SAT It's not mentioned much in the story, but I'd hope this would make it more likely for some underprivileged students to consider college, since the SAT will now be free and something all students take, rather than a separate thing that must be sought out and purchased.

Hear, hear: Can Walton Goggins Just Be in Everything, Please?

UM: "At one point, the Beatles asked Stanley Kubrick to direct them in “The Lord of the Rings.” John, Paul, George and Ringo would respectively play Gollum, Frodo, Galdalf [sic] and Sam."

Great House Therapy: Marilla and Matthew’s God-Fearing Avonlea Orphan Sanctuary

Morning Coffee (6/11/15)

Martin Sheen is going to be Matthew Cuthbert in the new Anne of Green Gables movie, and I started crying just reading that headline, so obviously I'll handle this well.

X-Files is really happening, you guys.

Dawson's Creek and Buffy reruns are coming to ABC Family!

Oh hey, did I tell you Classic Alice is back? Classic Alice is back.

I don't agree with everything in this, but it's worth a read: What the ATX Festival should renew for next year—and what it should cancel

Apparently this is basically the one law New Hampshire has decided it needs. Okay then.

The story behind that mistaken tweet that the Queen had died is pretty wacky.

A Musician Names Things

Morning Coffee (4/20/15)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

Sad news: Jonathan Crombie (who played Gilbert Blythe) passed away over the weekend.

Dear Marco Rubio, This is not how to win friends in New Hampshire.

This is not how you archive.

If you have Henry VII's bed, maybe don't leave it in a car park.

Elsewhere in famous bed news: Bedspread thought to be from Abraham Lincoln's deathbed to be tested for blood

Maureen Johnson says good things about teachers, sexism, and more.

Fascinating: The lavish lifestyle of India's royalty

Heh: A Day in the Life of a Fictional Female Reporter

Morning Coffee (1/30/15)

Happy Friday!

This Is How You Get A Busy Person To Respond To Your Email (Or, 5 Rules For Good Email Etiquette)

Listen To NYC's Mayor Do A Dramatic Reading Of 'The Onion'

Oh my gosh, POMPEII IN LEGO.

Ha, look at this modern reimagination of Busytown.

This is great: Ten Things I Learned from Loving Anne of Green Gables

Amber Benson talks books, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and being hit on by teenage boys

More Cool Maps of Fictional Literary Places

Princess Estelle watches figure skating!

"Something has gone terribly wrong with the earth’s orbit, but modern gender roles are still pretty much intact."

Halloween Morning Coffee (10/31/14)

Happy Halloween!

Me elsewhere: Haven recap

I love these L.L. Bean jack-o'-lanterns.

I bet your Halloween also needs Tom Mison and John Noble in a pumpkin patch.

What if your favorite books were Halloween candy?

Eeee! AMC picked up that John Le Carre limited series starring Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston.

I want these Kate Spade for GapKids gift bow flats with every fiber of my being.

I love the cover of Sarah Dessen's next book.

LOOK AT THIS ANNE OF GREEN GABLES WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT.

Trust me, you probably want to watch this behind-the-scenes video by the director of Taylor Swift's Diet Coke kittens ad. (Hint: The director is a cat.)

How Well Can You Decode Taylor Swift Songs Through Emoji? I had an embarrassingly hard time with some of these.

The Taylor Swift/San Francisco Giants conspiracy, explained

I love England: 'Tree of the Year' competition finalists announced

Morning Coffee (10/9/14)

Me elsewhere: Pilot post on The Flash.

An important read about women, the Internet, and harassment: Trouble at the Koolaid Point

And author Sarah Rees Brennan has some good and somewhat related thoughts about women taking credit for their work.

The culture wars are back, and this time, everyone can win

God knows I like data, but the Cancellation Bear is terrible, and make sure you read this for the amazing last line from Todd VanDerWerff.

Librarians won’t stay quiet about government surveillance

“A Woman Too Soon”: Rilla of Ingleside and World War I

I love this kind of thing, that just shows how people live: Student life in Russia – in pictures

Heh: Man Infected with Ebola Misinformation Through Casual Contact With Cable News

Morning Coffee (5/7/14)

Update: New Kidnapping Reported in Nigeria as U.S. Offers Help

Shocker: It's like universal health care helps people's health.

I have to figure out how to work an evening podcast into my routine, but I'm excited about Mike Pesca's new The Gist at Slate.

Well, this is awesome: The College of Arms has published rules for The Arms of Individuals in Same-Sex Marriages.

Huh: Monica Lewinsky is doing a Vanity Fair exclusive.

John Green in Cosmo: Can You Get Too Old for YA Novels? (No.)

Terrible news: One in five beers sold in America is a Bud Light

If You Knew Anne of the Island IRL

Morning Coffee (5/5/14)

I periodically forget that the Free State Project people are still around, being annoying and terrible.

Important: Changed Life of the Poor: Better Off, but Far Behind

Why Has the Pentagon Turned Into a Robot When Asked to Explain Its Trans Ban?

Think what you may of "Blurred Lines" in general, but this video of Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy dancing to it is PURE MAGIC.

I don't understand these people who want to stay in New Hampshire and leave Connecticut.

Will fear of TV cancellations become a thing of the past?

Beyond net neutrality: The new battle for the future of the internet

Hee: PEI to bolster tourism with 300 ft Anne of Green Gables Roller Coaster (Warning: satire.)

Truth: Cider Is Fucking Awesome. End of Story.